The delivery riders of Zomato-owned quick-commerce platform Blinkit, who have been on strike since last week, met Gurugram Deputy Labour Commissioner Dinesh Kumar on Monday demanding a minimum pay of INR 25 per order delivered, restoration of earlier incentives, and better working hours. The riders are protesting against a new pay structure rolled out by the startup, under which their payout will change from a fixed amount to a per kilometre basis. Under the new pay structure, Blinkit will pay INR 12 per kilometre travelled by riders to deliver an order, which has sparked outrage among delivery drivers. The pay changes for less busy hours, during which drivers would only get INR 9 per kilometre. The drivers are demanding a pay scale that would see the payout reach INR 100 per hour. Under the previous pay regime, there was a difference in payout between the early adopters and the later joiners. The first group of around 380 drivers were paid INR 50 per order, while the later joiners, comprising about 2,500 to 3,000 delivery partners, received INR 25 per order.
The new pay structure implemented by Blinkit would result in all delivery partners being paid the same amount of INR 12 per kilometre travelled to deliver an order, regardless of whether they are early adopters or newer drivers. This has caused dissatisfaction among the early adopters who were previously receiving a higher payout of INR 50 per order. The newer drivers, who were receiving INR 25 per order, may benefit from the new pay structure as they would be paid more for longer deliveries.